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Burger King Plans Public Stock Offering

MIAMI, Feb. 1 - The parent company of Burger King said Wednesday that it planned to sell shares to the public for the first time in the restaurant's 52-year history.

Burger King Holdings plans to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of stock in late February or early March, the chief executive, Gregory D. Brenneman, said.

"Our goal has always been to take Burger King public," Mr. Brenneman said in a statement. "We believe the transparency and stability in ownership offered by being a public company will benefit our employees and franchisees." The company, based in Miami, declined to comment further, citing securities law. Owen Blicksilver, a spokesman for the three private equity firms that own the chain, also declined to comment.

The ratings agency Standard & Poor's said the offering would be worth at least $600 million.

A restaurant industry consultant, Allan Hickok, said the timing was right, considering the success last week of McDonald's spinoff of Chipotle Mexican Grill. Its shares doubled on the first day.

Burger King was long the second-largest hamburger chain behind No. 1 McDonald's, but it fell into a tie for No. 2 with Wendy's in 2004, according to the research firm Technomic.